Mortality rates of modern radiologists similar to other medical fields

A good news, medical image processing expert: According to a recent study published in radiology, radiologists who graduated after 1940 did not raise the mortality rate due to radiation exposure.

DPhil's Amy Berringtonde González, the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues reported that data from more than 43,000 medical professors from the American Medical Association and doctor of medicine from more than 64,000 medical scientists from 1916 to 2006 . Psychiatrist graduated from the hospital

Overall, male radiologists have lower mortality rates than male psychiatrists, and cancer mortality rates are the same in either occupation.

However, the mortality associated with acute myelogenous leukemia and / or myelodysplastic syndrome is higher for radiologists. The researchers emphasized that this is due to the mortality rate of radiologists who graduated before 1940.

"Occupational radiation dose has drastically decreased. No evidence has been found that the death rate is high in American radiologists who graduated from the medical department after 1940. Perhaps the change in radiation protection and lifestyle habits increases That's why. "

How safe is this profession for today's radiologist? Berringtonde González et al. Provide some insight

"Radioprotection has greatly improved since the initial radiologist's opening, including general lead shielding of equipment, personal use of lead apron and glass, use of indoor shields," he said. Maximum permissible occupational volume declines also occurred and changes in radiation protection changed organs receiving the highest radiation exposure. Skin is taken high, personal protective clothing is not used, whole body is exposed to unshielded X-ray tube.

The authors' research has revealed an unexpected relationship between people who graduated from the medical department before 1940 and skin cancer.

"The death from skin cancer of radiologists who graduated before 1940, especially the melanoma mortality rate is also increasing, which is interesting because it is not thought that ionizing radiation is the cause of melanoma" ing. In the cohort of radiologists in the United States, the risk of death from skin cancer of non-melanoma is significant, but it is not a melanoma Since melanoma is a relatively rare cancer, it is hard to study in most previous radiopharmaceutical cohorts.

Given the experience of radiologists and other experts in cohort mortality over 50 years, it is postulated that these populations differ from the expected reduction in radiation exposure. In comparison with other experts who entered the cohort of the North American Radiation Society before 1940, the radiologist's total death cause mortality rate is too high, even if the number of deaths from cancer is excluded from that rate, The remaining. These data are consistent with the concept of accelerated aging caused by radiation. By 1949, radiologists showed cancer death rates 10 years higher than other experts. In the cohort of 1950-1959 it was not enough age to prove the expected peak cancer mortality rate at the age group of 60-64 years. Several hypotheses have been proposed to present reasons for the differences in trends in age-specific cancer mortality through the registration cohort

Current mortality rate of radiologists and other physicians: all causes and death from cancer

Early studies comparing cancer mortality rates between British radiologists registered at the radiation laboratory before 1920 with radiation technologists who began practicing at the time of initial protection proposal showed significant evidence of exposure and risk . Radiologists registered since 1920 have cancer mortality comparable to the mortality rate of all healthcare workers, but radiologists are still likely to have high cancer risks due to long-term radiation exposure Respectively. Experimental studies on cellular inactivation, mutation, and radiation effects such as cancer have utilized experimental workers to accurately regulate target cell or tissue radiation doses. Similarly, epidemiological studies of exposed populations benefit from the ability of scientists to rebuild individual, even organ specific radiation doses.